Store-goods lifter.



L. BUJESE.

STORE GOODS LIFTER.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 19, 1913.

1,1 24,207, Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

lN! /ENTOR Ba are TTORNEYS THE NORRIS PETERS (30., PHOTOJJTHOHWASHINGTON, D. C.

STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Louis BUJEsn, or Niiw YORK, 1v. 5!.

STORE-GOODS LIFTER.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LOUIS BUJESE, a citiz enof the .United States, and a resident of the city of New York, boroughof Brooklyn, in th ount f K n nd St o w York, have invented a new andImproved Store-Goods Lifter, of which the following is a ll clea and emsd sc t o M This invention relates to hoisting and has particularreference to lifters adapted more particularly for the manipulation ofbottles or cans of commodities in stores or the like.

Among the objects of this invention is to so improve this class ofdevices as to make asier a d more reliable. i u t n those suall emrl ve4 The foregoing and other objects of this nven on w l he ein f e be moref l y decr bedand claim d nd i a e in th drawings forming apart ,of thisspecifica tion in which, like characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views, andinwhich Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a preferred embodiment of this invention; Fig. 2 is a rearelevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a plan View; and Fig. sis adetailshowing the relation of the actuator to the gripping. arms when the armsare locked open.

The several parts of the device may be made of any suitable materials,and the.

relative sizes and proportions, as well as the general design of themechanism, may be varied to a considerable extent without departing fromthe spirit of the invention hereinafter more fully set forth andspecifically claimed.

In carrying out this invention in a preferred embodiment I provide apole or staff of any suitable length adapted to enable the operator toreach up to any high shelf for the purpose of removing cans or packagesof goods therefrom or for similar purposes. To the upper end of saidstafl' is connected a head 11 having a horizontal fiat piece at the topto which are pivoted a pair of arms 12 and 13 by means of pivots 14:,said arms being adapted to move toward and from each othersimultaneously in the same horizontal plane. The front ends of the armsconstitute fingers 15 which may be curved to conform to the parcels tobe manipulated, and they may, if desired, be covered with rubber orother material indicated at 16 to prevent abrasion of the goods orslipping thereof while being carried.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 19. 191 3. Serial No. 807,634.

Said arms are connected to a contractile sprlng 17 so arranged as tocause the fingers 15 to approachv each other. under normal cond tions,the strength of the spring being suflicie t to insure. a reliable gripbetween the fingers and the article being carried thereby.

{ The rear ends of the arms terminate not far distant from the pivotscrews 1% and cooperate with a. disk-like actuator 18 journaled on apivot pin 19 upon the rear portion of the head 11 and movable throughsubstantially 90 degrees in a vertical plane atright angles to the planeof the arms and 13. Said actuator is provided with a pair of spiralslots 20 into or through which the rear ends of the arms project. Thesaid ends of the arms are preferably provided with antifriction rollers21 whereby the, friction between. the edges of the slots 20 and saidarms is reduced to a minimunr during the operation of the device. Thenormal position of the parts is shown in Fig. 2 with the roller ends ofthe arms located at those ends of the slots 20 farthest from the pivot19. Any suitable means may be usedto forcibly rotate the actuator so asto cause the roller ends of the arms to approach the center of theactuator, as shown in Fig. 4, for the purpose of spreading the fingers15 against the tension of the spring 17 To this end I provide a fingerpiece or lever 23 pivoted at one end at 24 to the lower end of the staffand having a wire or rod 25 extending thence into pivotal connection at26 with a lug 27 constituting an extension or part of said actuator.

Upon depressing the finger piece 23 to a certain extent, the actuatorwill be rotated to a corresponding extent and the outer edges of theslots 20, acting upon the rollers 21, will cause the fingers 15 to beseparated so as to grasp a package. Under normal conditions, especiallyif the lever 23 is not depressed to its full extent, the action of thespring will restore or tend to restore the parts to the normal positionshown in Figs. 2 and 3. If desired, however, the extreme inner ends ofthe slots 20 may be formed substantially concentric with the pivot 19 asshown at 20, whereby, when the actuator is rotated to the maximumextent, as shown in Fig. 4:, the force of the spring acting to cause themovement of the rollers 21 in radial directions with respect to theactuator, said rollers will bear directly against the short concentricportions of the slots and hence will have no camming eifect to restorethe actuator to normal position. A slight upward touch or thrust,however, upon the finger piece 23 will start the rollers from and beyondsaid concentric portions of the slots. The purpose of this constructionis to enable me to'lock the arms apart temporarily so as to reach withthe utmost facility to elevated places without being obliged to maintaina constant application of force upon the finger piece.

At 28 I show a shelf or platform pivotally connected to the staff 10 andadapted to swing laterally to one side or the other from the verticalplane of the aforesaid arms. The purpose of this shelf is to constitutea positive support for a heavy bottle or the like which is beingmanipulated by the lifter. By pivoting the shelf so as to swing aroundthe axis of the shaft it is made possible to avoid obstructions, such asthe main store shelves or the like, while in use. The

shelf may becaused to assume any desired position with respect to thearms 12 and 13, by means of a hub 29 which surrounds the staff 10.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. In a store goods lifter, the combination with astafi and a head secured at the upper end thereof, of a pair of armspivoted to said head for movement in opposite directions in the sameplane, a spring acting upon said arms tending to force them in onedirection, an actuator cooperating with said arms and serving to forcesaid arms in the opposite direction, said actuator comprising a disklikemember having a pair of slots into which the arms extend, each slotbeing spiral at one end and concentric with the pivot of the actuator atthe other end, and means extending from the lower end of the staif tosaid actuator.

2. In a store goods lifter, the combination of a staif, a head connectedto the upper end thereof and having a horizontal upper face, a pair ofarms pivoted on said face and movable simultaneously toward and from.each other in the same plane, aspring serving to force said arms towardeach other, an actuator comprising a disk journaled in a'vertical planeat the rear portion of said head, said actuator having a pair of spiralslots into and through which the rear ends of said arms project, andmeans operable from the lower end of the stafi to rotate said actuatorso as to cause the movement of the arms against the tension of saidspring.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS BUJESE. I Witnesses:

GEO. L. BEELER, GEO. H. EMSLIE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). 0. I

